Department of Parks and Recreation > Activities & Programs
All Activities and Programs
Table of Contents
The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation provides year-round recreation programs, classes, and activities for all ages. Our facilities also host a wide variety of activities throughout the year including concerts, fairs, competitions and cultural exhibitions. For example, our Nā Hula Festival at Kapiʻolani Park is the longest running, non-competitive hula event in the state. We can surely help you find the activities that you want.
Everyone in our department is dedicated to keeping our island green, our residents and visitors happy and our facilities operating. Please check out these resources below to help guide you on your journey to enjoying the outdoors!
Special Events
Senior Valentines Dance
Held at the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, this annual event celebrates our love for kūpuna as they dance to a variety of music! Launched in 1969, senior clubs and senior organizations select representatives to join some other VIPs during the opening ceremony. The Mayor and celebrities participate in folk and line dancing to fill up the morning program, which launches with the Royal Hawaiian Band! It’s an amazing time, open to dancers of all ages (though the kūpuna are the stars!)
Kualoa/Hakipu‘u Wa‘a Festival
This annual celebration of Hōkūleʻa’s birthday (the Saturday near March 8) at Kualoa Regional Park offers a variety Hawaiian cultural protocol, ocean activities, and educational opportunities for the entire family. This includes: hula & oli, paddling & sailing, navigation lessons, and so much more. Food booths are also available on-site. For more information visit Kualoa Regional Park’s dedicated website.
Lei Court Selection
Held in early March, this beautiful celebrates Native Hawaiian culture, hula, ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, and of course lei-making as we determine the Lei Court for the next year! Click here for more information.
Senior Fun Walk
During the Fun Walk, participants can enjoy a leisurely stroll around the shopping center punctuated by a mind-stimulating scavenger hunt. After activating your mind and body, participants are invited to an informational fair with a variety of booths, before further enjoying the shopping center. Free registration for the event begins 10 a.m. at the downstairs lobby near the Longs Drugs, with the walk beginning a half hour later. DPR staff estimate the walk has been an annual part of our Senior Citizens events for over two decades, travelling around different locations including Ala Moana Regional Park, Kapi‘olani Park, Patsy T. Mink Central O‘ahu Regional Park, and Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park.
Lei Day Celebration
Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the celebration is held throughout Queen Kapiʻolani Napelakapuokakaʻe’s namesake park on the first of May (regardless of the day of the week, rain or shine). The all-day event features a wide variety of island musical & hula performances, Hawaiian cultural protocol, the world renown Lei Contest, lei-making workshops, artisans and merchants all in a family friendly setting! Click here for more information.
Mayor's Memorial Day
Now celebrated on the last Monday of May, the first form of Memorial Day in the United States began after the Civil War as a day to honor and remember those who made the final full measure of devotion while serving in the Armed Forces. Following WWII, Pūowaina was designated the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with the first Memorial Day Ceremony held within the crater in 1949. Since that first humble ceremony, City and County of Honolulu has been honored to work with numerous veteran, community, and educational organizations to help facilitate this time-honored tradition. Click here for more information.
Midsummer Night's Gleam
As daylight begins to fade on July’s third Saturday, a dazzling spectacle will be on full display in Downtown Honolulu’s lushest garden array! Foster Botanical Garden, the City’s oldest botanical garden, hosts a plethora of family-friendly activities, colorful performances, and thousands of spectacular light displays for everyone to enjoy!
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Nā Hula Festival
Since 1940, the Nā Hula Festival has celebrated the artistry and grace of Hawai‘i’s premiere dance form – hula. Held at Kapi‘olani Park’s historic bandstand, the festival is Hawai‘i’s longest-running, annual, non-competitive hula event.
Talk Story Festival
As Hawai‘i’s oldest and largest storytelling celebration, this event honors the tradition of perpetuating Hawaiian culture and heritage through oral history. In its 36 years of existence, the festival has been presented in many locations and adapted to the times.
Mayor's Arbor Day
In Hawai‘i we celebrate our forest friends all of the time, but we take extra care during November to honor trees as it marks the beginning of the rainy season when its best to plant! During the Mayor’s Arbor Day Ceremony we invite local school kids to join the Mayor in planting trees within our City parks, growing our forests and keiki curiosity for our natural environment. 
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Mayor's Craft & Country Fair
Scheduled for beginning of the holiday shopping season in November, this free annual event began in 1974 and is held at the Neal S. Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Senior Clubs sell a variety of goods: plants, handcrafted items, food, jam, jellies and “hardly” used items. Senior information and a variety entertainment is provided, a canned goods donation is appreciated. It’s a great place to get an early start on our holiday shopping, with proceeds benefiting the kūpuna clubs!
Kapolei City Lights
Since the inaugural celebration in 2001, Kapolei City Lights has been spreading holiday cheer to this ever-growing Leeward O‘ahu community as a complement to Honolulu City Lights. Held in and around Kapolei Hale, the decorations and fun last through the month of December every year!
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Resources
Programs
Adopt a Park
This program fosters lasting partnerships with the kaiāulu (community) by working to maintain, beautify and improve City and County of Honolulu park lands. Volunteering to steward these lands in partnership with us is one way the community can get involved to maintain and improve park lands. This long term program requires a two year commitment by the Adopter with a minimum of four different work days per year. Click here for more information.
Botanical Garden Classes
We offer a wide variety of classes and programs every Spring, Summer, and Fall in your botanical garden! The catalog detailing the diverse array of available park and garden programs is posted in the “Activities” section of the Parks and Recreation Online System (PROS) website: pros.hnl.info
Camping
We manage 218 campsites at 17 campgrounds in 14 City and County of Honolulu parks and botanical gardens across the island of O‘ahu! In 2024, we issued 8,025 camping permits. Click here for more information.
People's Open Markets
Founded in 1973, the POMs offer an affordable, open-air market experience at 23 sites around O‘ahu. We are different from your typical farmers’ market with each location typically open for 45-60 minutes and our vendors recommended to sell their fares at prices much lower than retail stores. What a deal! Click here for more information.
Seasonal Park Classes
From arts & crafts to archery, swimming to sewing, there is sure to be an activity that piques your interest being offered in your City parks! We offer a wide variety of classes and programs every Spring, Summer, and Fall. The catalog detailing the diverse array of available park and garden programs is posted in the “Activities” section of the Parks and Recreation Online System (PROS) website: pros.hnl.info
Senior Clubs
Why are elderly activities so important? Joining senior citizen clubs offers a wealth of benefits for older adults, fostering both physical and mental well-being. These clubs provide a sense of community and belonging, helping to combat feelings of loneliness and isolation that some seniors may experience. Click here for more information.
Summer Fun
Our most popular program, Summer Fun is an affordable, City-operated, seasonal day camp where children are engaged in learning experiences in a fun and safe environment. These opportunities help build on soft skills, which promote leadership and future educational and lifelong success. Click here for more information.
Therapeutic Recreation
The mission of this program is to assist people with a disability in accessing parks activities and locations. DPR follows the LIFE concept (Leisure Is For Everyone), which supports the belief that a community with integrity is one where people with and without disabilities play, learn, and enjoy recreation together. The practical application of this philosophy in service assures access for all people to the same recreational opportunities. Click here for more information.
